Post-prelim: What’s going on in the 2025 election
How to vote
Register to vote online by October 24th
Do one of the following:
• Request a mail-in ballot online and mail it back before November 4th
• Vote early at Medford City Hall between October 25-31st
• Vote November 4th at your designated polling location
Short blog post today — I’m just going to summarize the results of the prelim. On September 16th, Medford had a preliminary election. 17 candidates signed up to run for seven at-large City Council seats. But, in the general election on November 4th, only 14 of them can be on the ballot. So we had a preliminary election that reduced that list from 17 to 14. I’ll offer some thoughts on the results of the prelim and my views on some other salient issues this election.
By the numbers
The final results of the prelim were as follows:
George Scarpelli - 4,034
Rick Caraviello - 3,717
Melanie Tringali - 3,603
Justin Tseng - 3,589
Anna Callahan - 3,576
Emily Kaye Lazzaro - 3,490
Matt Leming - 3,485
Isaac B. “Zac” Bears II - 3,467
Paul Donato, Jr. - 3,458
Liz Mullane - 3,023
Nicholas Giurleo - 2,995
Miranda Briseño - 2,992
Patrick Clerkin - 2,343
Nate Merritt - 2,220
Page Buldini - 2,121
Trish Schiapelli - 2,026
Milva McDonald - 1,520
Group mailers swung the prelim
Overall, I think the results of the prelim on September 16th had more to do with campaign tactics than anything else. Our Revolution Medford (the progressive group I’m affiliated with) sent the following mailer out:
And another group of candidates sent out this mailer:
So, what happened? The three candidates who placed in the bottom weren’t on a group mailer. For an all at-large system like Medford’s, group mailers are an effective campaign tool. I think slate voting was a particularly big influence this election, and it is likely that that will continue in the general on 11/4.
